For the attentive viewer: These are all the hidden ‘Easter Eggs’ in Disney and Pixar films

It's almost Easter (well, almost, still over a month away) and that of course means egg hunting. Now you can definitely wake me up at night for a bag of chocolate Easter eggs, but we're going to talk about other types of Easter eggs now. A little less tasty and creamy, these, but much better for the waistline. I'm talking about Easter eggs in movies, specifically those in Pixar animated films.

If you're not familiar with it yet: an Easter egg in a movie is an inside joke, a kind of secret image or message that the creators have intentionally included. Finding them is like a kind of treasure hunt for Easter eggs, hence the name. A few famous ones? For example, in every Disney movie, there are a few Mickey Mouse ears to be found. Yes, apparently really every one. I must confess that I haven't gone through every Disney movie to check (although it doesn't seem like the most tedious task, so who knows, maybe I'll get around to it someday), but I have spotted them in The Lion King and Frozen. Well, it's a start, right?.

But Disney's competitor Pixar can do it too. And the fun thing about their Easter eggs is that they are full of spoilers about movies that are yet to come out. Honestly: I haven't managed to figure them out in advance yet, but it has already given me quite a few ah-ha moments. Do you really have no idea what I'm talking about, or are you such an attentive viewer that you already have a list of found Easter eggs at home? I've compiled the best ones from Pixar and Disney for you. Film included and where you can find it: this makes the search a lot easier. And watching a movie with a bag of chocolate Easter eggs is totally on theme, so I absolutely approve of that.

Will this be the new drinking game? For every pair of Mickey Mouse ears you see in a Disney movie: shot. Every time Toy Story comes up in a Pixar movie: shot. When a character makes a crossover in another film: another shot. A teaser for a next film: you get it: shot. Cartoon nights have never gotten so out of hand, I predict. Unfortunately, you can't blame me for any hangovers. Maybe it's better to do this at home and not, for example, at Toy Story 4. That comes out in June 2019 in theaters and is guaranteed to be a lot of fun. But maybe wait to toast until you're out of the cinema.

Also an idea: plan new trips based on your favorite Disney or Pixar movie. The Lion King? Plan a trip to Africa. Finding Nemo? Think about how you want to explore the land down under. Hercules? No Chersonissos please, but plan a road trip through the Peloponnese. Or just plan a trip to Disneyland of course, you never get too old for that, right?

1. Monsters, Inc. We start right away with one of my personal favorite films. When Sully is in Boo's room, she gives him a hug. Pay attention to what kind of hug: this is actually Nemo from Finding Nemo. That movie wasn't out yet, so this was a little teaser from the creator that we could expect this film. You can also see him lying around in other shots of Boo's room.

2. Finding Nemo. When Finding Nemo finally came out, it teased the next film, namely Cars. When they are searching on land for P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney (one of the few addresses I will never forget in my life), Luigi drives by in a car – one of the main characters in Cars.

3. The Lion King. This one is a kinky one. When Simba collapses to the ground, thinking of his father, you see dust rising. This dust forms the word ’S-E-X’ for a fraction of a second. Naughty you, Disney. Apparently, this was an inside joke from a few people on the animation team, and they had to pay for it. They were actually fired because of this joke. Sex and Disney don't exactly go together in the films.

4. Ratatouille. One of the most underrated films from Pixar if you ask me, so if you haven't seen this yet: definitely do. And check out the mime on the bridge for Notre Dame. That's Bomb Voyage, who later plays the villain in The Incredibles. Here he is still a lot more innocent.

5. Hercules. In this film, Scar is presented as a slaughtered lion and thus as a carpet. Neat and tidy, it seems to me. This is an Easter egg that is really hard to miss, by the way.

6. Up. If you've managed to get through the opening scene without too many tears (I didn't manage), you can already encounter the bear Lotso. That's a character from Toy Story 3, which was yet to be released when Up came out. Another little teaser.

7. Coco. At the market, we encounter various familiar faces: Woody from Toy Story and Mike from Monsters, Inc. The pizza delivery truck from Cars also races by, and we see a mural from The Incredibles. Even the horror film The Shining gets a reference: you can actually see a painting of the two famous girls, hand in hand. Even in a Pixar film, those girls give me the chills.

8. In every Pixar film, there is also a reference to ‘A113’, which refers to a classroom at the university in California that is frequently used by studio employees.

Written by: Wieke Veenboer